Tees Valley Sport

A Day in the Life | Insight and Impact at Tees Valley Sport

Another busy day listening to young people, gathering insight and helping understand the impact of local projects across the Tees Valley for our Insight and Impact Officer, Nic.

The day started in the office with the weekly team huddle, catching up with colleagues and planning priorities for the week ahead.

Later in the day came a visit to Macmillan Academy to support the local School Games Organiser with a PE project focused on girls who are currently disengaged from PE and physical activity within school.

The visit involved speaking with the PE teacher, School Games Organiser and the young people involved to better understand their experiences, motivations and barriers to participation. Early conversations highlighted how important co-design was to the girls, helping them feel involved in shaping the activities and direction of the project.

The visit also focused on capturing baseline insight before the project begins, helping create a clearer understanding of attitudes and experiences at the starting point of the work.

There are plans to return at the end of the project to understand what has changed and why, with the learning gathered helping shape a future impact report and case study that can be shared more widely across the Tees Valley.

Days like this are all about listening to lived experience, understanding barriers and helping projects learn and grow.

A Day in the Life | Evaluation and Learning at Tees Valley Sport

Another busy day listening to communities, analysing insight and supporting place-based work across the Tees Valley for our Evaluation and Learning Specialist, Niomi Rodrigues.

A lot of place-based work is often seen through meetings, events and community activity, but a huge amount of the work happens behind the scenes. This day focused on reviewing community insight gathered through the Hartlepool Place Partnership programme to better understand people’s experiences, barriers and motivations around physical activity.

The day involved preparing handwritten notes, transcribing recordings, sorting data and analysing conversations gathered from local communities. Individual pieces of feedback were then brought together to help identify wider themes and patterns across Hartlepool.

The insight gathered helps shape conversations with partners, influence future planning and support more informed and inclusive decision-making based on lived experience rather than assumptions.

The day also reflected the reality of balancing detailed evaluation work alongside working from home, childcare, dog walks and everyday life, something many people will relate to.

Days like this are all about listening to communities, understanding lived experience and helping create long-term change across local communities.

A Day in the Life | Place at Tees Valley Sport

Another busy day supporting partnerships and strengthening place-based working across the Tees Valley for our Place Specialist, Lisa Aaron.

The day started with a meeting alongside England Rugby to explore opportunities to work together around place-based activity across the region. Discussions focused on shared priorities and how organisations can collaborate to create more opportunities for local communities to be active.

Next came a Stockton Evaluation and Learning meeting as work continues to progress following confirmation of the full Place Expansion award. Conversations focused on learning, understanding impact and ensuring insight continues to shape the direction of the work moving forward.

The day finished with a meeting at Kilmarnock Road alongside Sport England’s Asset Development team. The introduction meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the local area and explore how community spaces and assets can support long-term development within place.

Days like this are all about building partnerships, connecting organisations and helping create healthier and more active communities across the Tees Valley.

A Day in the Life | Place at Tees Valley Sport

Another busy day supporting partnerships and strengthening place-based working across the Tees Valley for our Place Officer, Marty Fowler.

The day started in Darlington supporting partners with the development of a Theory of Change to help shape local place-based work. Working alongside organisations including YMCA, Groundwork North East and Cumbria, DAD and Darlington Borough Council, discussions focused on shared priorities, long-term impact and how organisations can work together to better support local communities.

Later in the day, Marty attended a meeting exploring a potential collaboration with Tees Rowing following recent funding secured through the Northern Cancer Alliance and Durham University. The project aims to create opportunities for people awaiting cancer treatment to learn how to row, supporting both physical and mental wellbeing.

The conversations explored how partners could work together to strengthen and expand opportunities locally, particularly as the work aligns closely with the direction of Stockton’s Place Expansion work.

Days like this are all about building partnerships, connecting organisations and creating opportunities that help communities become healthier and more active.

A Day in the Life | Health at Tees Valley Sport

Another busy day supporting partnerships, influencing system conversations and helping create healthier communities across the Tees Valley for our Health Officer, Victoria Auton.

Working 16 hours a week, Victoria’s role focuses on embedding physical activity within health and care systems, helping strengthen prevention approaches and improve health and wellbeing through movement.

A large part of the role involves attending partnership meetings with colleagues across the NHS, local authorities, housing and community sectors to help ensure physical activity is recognised as an important part of prevention and recovery pathways.

One key area of work is supporting the South Tees NHS Falls Prevention Strategy Group. Through this partnership work, a dedicated Falls Prevention Physical Activity sub Working Group was established to strengthen links between clinical services and community activity opportunities.

The group focuses on creating clearer referral pathways for people at risk of falls and those recovering following falls, helping improve access to local strength and balance opportunities that support independence, confidence and long-term wellbeing.

Victoria also represents Tees Valley Sport within the regional MECC (Making Every Contact Count) Physical Activity Working Group, supporting work that helps health and care professionals have positive conversations around physical activity and healthy behaviours.

Days like this are all about helping organisations work together, improving connections across systems and creating more opportunities for people to move more and live healthier lives.

A Day in the Life | Governance at Tees Valley Sport

Another busy day connecting with colleagues, sharing learning and strengthening governance practice for our Governance Specialist, Catherine Woods.

Catherine travelled to London to attend the Finance and Governance Roadshow hosted by the Active Partnerships Network and Active Partnerships National Organisation. The event brought together colleagues from across the country to discuss common challenges, share good practice and learn from each other.

Throughout the day there were updates from Sport England around the new funding cycle, discussions around governance and finance processes, and conversations exploring how AI could support organisations in the future.

The event also created valuable opportunities for collaboration through breakout sessions, networking and shared discussions, helping colleagues continue building strong support networks across the sector.

Days like this are all about learning together, strengthening organisations and building connections that help create more sustainable and effective support across communities.